Matthew 4:7

“Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’””

Matthew 4:7 · direct translation from the Greek
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The devil quotes Scripture too; Jesus will not put God to the testTemptation

With the Greek beneath

7

Quotation · Deuteronomy 6:16

Go to Deuteronomy 6:16

Jesus quotes the first sentence of Deuteronomy 6:16, which in Hebrew continues: “as you tested him at Massah.” Matthew gives it in the singular: “You shall not test.”

Formula: Πάλιν γέγραπται “again it is written” (Matthew 4:7)

See the original texts

Greek of the New Testament: ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Πάλιν γέγραπται Οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου

Hebrew (Masoretic text): לֹא תְנַסּוּ אֶת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר נִסִּיתֶם בַּמַּסָּה

Septuagint (Deuteronomy 6:16 in the Septuagint numbering): Οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου, ὃν τρόπον ἐξεπειράσατε ἐν τῷ Πειρασμῷ.

The Greek of the NT matches the Septuagint word for word in 6 consecutive words: “Οὐκ ἐκπειράσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου.”

Septuagint, Swete’s text, First1KGreek transcription (with reading errors), CC BY-SA 4.0

Matthew 4:7, word by word

JesusἸησοῦςIēsous

Jesus

Jesus, the Greek form of the Hebrew Yehoshua (Joshua), which means "YHWH saves". It is the name the angel told Joseph to give him (Matthew 1:21).

Where else “Iēsous” appears
saidἔφηephē

say

Say.

Where else “ephē” appears
“AgainΠάλινPalin

also

Adds something to what was said, on the other hand.

Where else “Palin” appears
it is writtenγέγραπταιgegraptai

it is written

So the Bible says; a passage is quoted.

Where else “gegraptai” appears
testἐκπειράσειςekpeiraseis

test, tempt

Test, put to the test; tempt God by demanding that he prove something.

Where else “ekpeiraseis” appears
the Lordκύριονkyrion

Lord

The Lord: God, whose name is YHWH; also Jesus.

Where else “kyrion” appears
your God.’θεόνtheon

God

The Creator and Lord of all, the one God of Israel.

Where else “theon” appears

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

The temptations of Jesus

Mark 1:12-13Luke 4:1-13

See them side by side

Matthew 4:1-11

1Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tested by the devil. 2And after fasting forty days and forty nights, afterward he was hungry. 3And the one testing him came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4But he answered and said, “It is written, ‘A person will not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out through the mouth of God.’” 5Then the devil takes him into the holy city and stood him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6and says to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will lift you up, so that you do not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’” 8Again the devil takes him to a very high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9and he said to him, “All these things I will give you, if you fall down and bow down before me.” 10Then Jesus says to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall bow down before the Lord your God, and him alone you shall serve.’” 11Then the devil leaves him, and look, angels came and were serving him.

Mark 1:12-13

12And at once the Spirit drives him out into the wilderness. 13And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tested by Satan; and he was with the wild animals, and the angels were serving him.

Luke 4:1-13

1And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and he was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he did not eat anything in those days, and when they were completed, he was hungry. 3And the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” 4And Jesus answered him, “It is written: A human being will not live on bread alone.” 5And leading him up, he showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited world in a moment of time. 6And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been handed over to me, and to whomever I wish I give it. 7So if you bow down before me, it will be all yours.” 8And answering, Jesus said to him, “It is written: Before the Lord your God you will bow down, and him alone you will serve.” 9And he brought him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; 10for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, 11and: On their hands they will carry you, so that you do not strike your foot against a stone.” 12And answering, Jesus said to him, “It is said: You will not put the Lord your God to the test.” 13And when the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Quotation · Deuteronomy 6:16

Jesus quotes the first sentence of Deuteronomy 6:16, which in Hebrew continues: “as you tested him at Massah.” Matthew gives it in the singular: “You shall not test.”

See them side by side

Matthew 4:7

7Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not test the Lord your God.’”

Deuteronomy 6:16

16You shall not put YHWH your Elohim to the test, as you put him to the test at Massah.

The context

6and says to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and ‘On their hands they will lift you up, so that you do not strike your foot against a stone.’”

7 · This verse (above)

8Again the devil takes him to a very high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory,

Read all of Matthew 4

To study Matthew 4 in a group

  1. 1. What it says

    How did Jesus answer each time the tester spoke to him (vv. 4, 7, 10)?

  2. 2. What it means

    Why does Matthew tell of the testing right before Jesus begins to proclaim the kingdom (vv. 1, 17)?

  3. 3. How I live it

    Jesus called fishermen to follow him (v. 19). What everyday work could you do with more attention to God?

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